Harrisburg Defeats State College in Chaotic Defensive Battle

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Noah Radio | September 7, 2024

The State College Little Lions broke their two-game winning streak with a 7-6 loss to Harrisburg on Saturday afternoon at Severance Field.

The first quarter was soggy and uneventful, ending in a 0-0 tie as the morning’s rain showers continued into the afternoon.

As the rain eased, the second quarter began with two holding penalties killing a promising Harrisburg drive. State College started at midfield and began to make some headway on its first possession of the second quarter.

The Little Lions were aided by Harrisburg penalties, but could not end up in the endzone and had to settle for three. Sophomore kicker Shane Markowski had no trouble knocking in the 24-yard field goal to put State College ahead 3-0 with 5:57 to play in the half.

After back-to-back punts, Harrisburg finally got on the scoreboard late in the first half. Junior quarterback Jaiyon Lewis looked like a seasoned veteran, guiding the Cougars from their own 16 to the State College 28-yard line in less than 60 seconds. Lewis then hit Penn State commit Messiah Mickens with a touchdown pass to pull ahead 7-3 with 22 seconds remaining in the first half.

The teams traded quick turnovers to begin the second half. First, Harrisburg’s Kymir Williams picked off senior quarterback Eddie Corkery’s pass at the 50-yard line, and then two plays later, State College’s Michael Gaul recovered a Harrisburg fumble at the State College 16-yard line.

State College settled down after the quick turnovers and went on a 15-play scoring drive, led by Corkery and Gaul. The Little Lions got as close as the 9-yard line before a personal foul stalled the drive. State College Head Coach Matt Lintal was lobbying for offsetting penalties, but he had no luck and the Little Lions were forced to settle for another field goal. Markowski drilled the 22-yard kick, bringing the score to 7-6 with 4:47 remaining in the third quarter.

The Cougars jumped back into their offensive rhythm, driving well into State College territory in the final minutes of the third quarter. Junior running back D’Antae Sheffey, who transferred from State College to Harrisburg in Jan. 2024, picked up his first yards of the game late in the third quarter. Sheffey is nursing a broken hand, and likely won’t be back to full strength for four to six weeks.

It was a special day for Sheffey as he got to take on his former teammates for the first time. Sheffey said, “I’ve been wanting to play State College for sure. It’s unfortunate I got this hand thing, injury, before the game, but this was definitely a game I had circled on my calendar. ”

The Little Lions clearly missed Sheffey in this game. Gaul and sophomore Rowan Walker, neither of whom came into the season expecting to be the starting running back, had to split the carries with senior running back Lamar Wilson suspended. Even with a depleted backfield, State College still found itself within a point of the Cougars entering the fourth quarter.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Lewis hit senior receiver Quincy Brannon with a pass to bring Harrisburg to the 6-yard line. State College star receiver/defensive back Cooper Brushwood went down on the play and would not return until late in the game.

On the next play, junior defensive end Quincy Smith broke into the backfield and forced a fumble. Gaul recovered it at the 10-yard line and State College was back in business with 10:49 remaining.

The Little Lions, led by Corkery and Gaul, embarked on a picture-perfect drive that lasted eight minutes and 23 seconds. Gaul racked up 51 of his 79 total rushing yards on 11 carries and brought the ball down to the Harrisburg 5-yard line. The Little Lions stared at fourth down and four with the possibility of a first down without reaching the end zone, but elected to trust Markowski’s leg.

Markowski’s kick was on line until Harrisburg’s three-way star Elias Coke got his hand on the ball and knocked it down. The ball came to rest in the end zone and Coke, a four-star receiver, was mobbed on the Harrisburg sideline.

The Cougars needed just two first downs to end the game, but there was still more chaos to ensue. Dealing with a broken play clock, the Cougars committed a delay of game penalty and never picked up enough yards for a first down.

The State College offense trotted out to its own 40-yard line with 1:22 remaining in the game and a chance to put together a game-winning drive. However, the Little Lions’ fire was quickly put out as Corkery threw his second interception of the game, this one to sophomore Trays Walker. Two kneel-downs later, Harrisburg had its third straight win over State College and moved to 2-1 on the season.

After the game, all of the talk on the State College sideline was about getting better and getting back, specifically with a win over Harrisburg in the state playoffs.

Brushwood said, “This team fights no matter what, we went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the state. Everyone had us getting blown out, losing, like, they’re gonna see us again, that’s all I got to say. They didn’t get the best us. They got the best of us now, and they’re not gonna get the best of us again.”

Lintal was proud of the team’s fight, even when facing adverse conditions in an emotional game. “I’m really proud of our kids, I think we played well enough to win but unfortunately couldn’t come out with more points. Our kids battled, I think we grow a lot from this game,” Lintal said, “Credit to Harrisburg, it was a battle back and forth the whole day. We were able to move the ball but things tightened up in the red zone and we gotta clean that up and find ways to score touchdowns.”

The Little Lions (2-1) are back in action on Friday, Sept. 13 at 7:00 when they travel to take on Cumberland Valley (2-1).

The Cougars (2-1) are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 1:00 when they take on Chambersburg (1-2).